Colt SAA Case Harding Process?

Do we think the new Colt SAA's use the same (old process) known as "Case Hardening" on their frames and not what the Ruger Vaquero uses? If so, why do they call it a "case colored receiver" and not "case hardened receiver" ? Sounds very suspicious and I have seen a newer used saa that appeared to have a piece of the case colored scraped off. OK, all you experts===go for it!

Not too sure about the "expert" appellation, but modern steels are through hardened, not requiring "case hardening" which is a surface hardening process. So, the case hardened colors or really decorative only.

But there is a difference between Ruger's process and Colt's, and the process Doug Turnbull uses on his restorations.

The case process used by the gunmakers, and Turnbull, is a heat applied finish using various carbon-producing material introduced during the heating process. The Ruger system is more of a dye process that does not involve use of a furnace.

Some older guns, and gun parts, are actually surface hardened, as on recent S & W action parts, which were surface hardened to reduce wear on friction surfaces.